New York state's fault-based divorce laws continue to give us glimpses of what divorce actions used to look like throughout the country. In a news report from Mark Fass of the New York Law Journal, we find this interesting evidentiary victory: "In New York, a state that requires aspiring divorcees to prove grounds -- and that also provides ample economic incentive for their spouses to contest those grounds -- defendants in divorce proceedings can find themselves needing to establish that they have not constructively abandoned their partners by denying them sex for over a year. But how? For one Westchester, N.Y., man, the proof was in the pill box: G.W. elicited as evidence of his and his wife C.W.'s lovemaking his physician's testimony that he had taken Viagra and, purportedly, that it had worked."

"The National Data Analysis System (NDAS) provides access to all states' child welfare and related data for the most recent years available. Because of various reporting cycles and data processing requirements, these data typically do not reflect the current year and may be one or two years behind. Users of NDAS can develop their own tables and graphs for a state or group of states in a single year or across years. Data sources and notes are included in these tables and graphs. . . Data topics include:

"Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards agreed to extend a temporary restraining order requiring the actor to stay away from his estranged wife. A judge issued the order in April after the 35-year-old actress alleged in court papers that Sheen pushed, shoved and threatened her and her parents.Sheen, 40, has denied the allegations. On Friday, the restraining order was extended to July 13 so a psychologist can evaluate and make a determination regarding a custody arrangement for their two young daughters, Sheen's publicist Stan Rosenfield said." FindLaw Link to Article (last visited 5-14-06 NVS)

"A woman convicted of beating and kicking her daughter's teacher in front of the girl's seventh-grade class was sentenced to six months in jail. Paulette Baines, 45, was convicted Wednesday of felony assault on a public servant. At her sentencing Thursday, she also was fined $800 (â‚¬629) and ordered to pay $14,000 (â‚¬11,000) restitution to Mary Oliver.

Baines, a high school teacher, walked into Oliver's science classroom, grabbed Oliver's hair and dragged her across the room while punching her in the face and kicking her, Oliver testified. The April 2005 attack occurred because Baines was angry about Oliver confronting her daughter for being in the hallway without permission, Oliver testified. Baines was fired after the incident." AP, FindLaw Link to Article (last visited 5-14-06 NVS)

"I am the proud daughter of three mothers: My biological mom, Susan; her partner, Kimmie, and my dad's second wife, Chrissy. It might sound overwhelming, but having four parents is all I have ever known. Kimmie entered the picture after my parents' divorce in 1987, when I was 2. My dad met Chrissy when I was 5, and they got married two years later. For most of my life, "normal" has consisted of two houses, three moms, one dad, an older sister and a wonderful joint-custody dog. My four parents gave me and my sister the most wonderful gift when they decided to co-parent. Immediately after the divorce, my mom and dad agreed to focus on raising me and my sister together, putting their problems with each other on the back burner." By Cassie Limpert, StarTribune.com Link to Article (last visited 5-14-06 NVS)

"A woman whose father was charged with kidnapping her as a child 30 years ago has been found living in Arizona, her mother and sheriff's officials said. On Mother's Day weekend in 1976, Laura Gooder's estranged husband, Eric Douglas Nielsen, picked up 21-month-old Genevieve Rachel Nielsen for an overnight visit. They never returned.

This Mother's Day weekend, a police officer arrived Saturday at Gooder's home in Frederic, Mich., with news that her daughter — now 31 — had been found, the Detroit News reported. Gooder's daughter had been raised under another name and grew up believing her mother had been killed in an auto accident. Law enforcement officials declined to release her other name. "It is pretty surreal,'' Gooder, 53, said. "I am keeping my fingers crossed and waiting for her to call.''" Associate Press, StarTribune.com Link to Article (last visited 5-14-06 NVS)

The Florida Supreme Court suggested in an opinion this week involving establishment of paternity for child support purposes that the Legislature may want to consider changing a law that keeps some paternity cases from being resolved because an indespensable party could not be found.The court framed the issue as whether a legal father (i.e., a man married to the child’s mother at the time of birth) is an indispensable party in a paternity action brought by the State to establish that a man other than the legal father is the child’s biological father and, as such, is obligated to provide child support.

The court held that the state’s presumption of legitimacy requires a holding that the legal father is an indispensable party in an action to determine paternityunless it is conclusively established that the legal father’s rights to the child have been divested by some earlier judgment.It observed that “A child born during marriage is presumed to be the child of both the husband and wife. This presumption of legitimacy is “one of the strongest rebuttable presumptions known to law. . . . This presumption grants legal fathers an `unmistakable interest’ in paternity actions brought by the Department.”

The court also observed that Florida’s service of process statute does not permit constructive service of process in paternity cases, and there is no express provision in Florida lawto authorize constructive service or to ensure that a legal father’s interests are appropriately protected. It said that “Whether the statutes should be modified to address this dilemma is a policy decision for the Legislature to decide.”

Kansas legislators toughened penalties on deadbeat parents this week. Under provisions passed and sent to Governor Kathleen Sebelius for signature, the state can pull hunting and other recreational licenses issued by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks from parents who have fallen behind in child support payments. In addition, the legislation would allow the state to suspend driver's licenses from parents who repeatedly fail to financially support their children.The governor is expected to sign the measures into law. Source.Sarah Kessinger, Harris News Service, hutchnews.com. To read the complete story, please click here (last visited May 14, 2006, reo).

To the surprise of some fishing license applicants, Minnesota suspends or revokes the fishing licenses of obligors with outstanding child support payments.It is reported that about 220 people have lost their fishing licenses since the state Department of Natural Resources began the program, which also encompasses hunting licenses.At least 120 persons received notice within the last six months that if they don’t pay up outstanding child support, they will not be eligible for a fishing license.Source.KSTP-TV.com. To read the complete story, please click here (last visited May 14, 2006, reo).

A federal district court judge in New York ruled Tuesday that the United States government cannot require foreign AIDS grant recipients to pledge to oppose commercial sex work. The pledge requirement was implemented in June 2005 and has as its origin a 2003 amendment to federal law that prohibits funds from going to a group without an explicit anti-prostitution and sex trafficking policy.The judge ruled that such a requirement violates the groups' First Amendment rights.Source.UPI, upi.com. To read the complete story, please click here (last visited May 14, 2006, reo).